Dealers

Lessons Learned from the 2016 ISC West Show As building products marketers, are we overcomplicating things? Do we consult with people down the channel—including customers and even our own sales teams—to make sure we are delivering the best information in ways that are easy to consume? Most importantly, who can we look to for…

An Open Letter To Trade Show Exhibitors Dear Friends, According to the Convention Industry Council, trade shows added more than $280 billion to the U.S. economy in 2012, drawing more than 225 million participants. That’s a staggering set of figures and it underscores the importance these shows play. As marketers, we all know exhibiting at…

3 Reasons Networking in the Building Products Industry Helps You and Your Business Guest Contributor: Lexi Copeland, Account Coordinator After moving from western Kansas (shout-out to Hays, America) to Kansas City more than two years ago, I initially felt like a very little fish in a very big pond. Starting off my career, I wasn’t sure…

What the 2016 Color Forecast Means for Building Industry Marketers Guest Contributor: Stephanie Voss, Art Director My favorite bedtime story to read to my daughter is about a whispering rabbit who has to make a very quiet noise to wake up a bumblebee. Because bumblebees, of course, are small creatures that do not pay attention…

Are You Using All the Sales Tools Available to You? As of July 2015, there are 1.6 million Google Play apps, 1.5 million Apple App Store apps, and 400,000 Amazon App Store apps*. The building products industry is beginning to take notice of this phenomenon with apps of their own—apps that can be used…

Prepare to Click Follow—A Lot. You’ll hear a lot of people in the building products industry make the claim that social media isn’t important to their marketing strategies. But the truth is that generational dynamics are shifting, putting Millennials and other social media users in new buying positions. It’s not something that’s coming down…

Sales and Strategy Go Hand In Hand What if I told you that all the effort you put into marketing your building products was absolutely useless? What if I told you that no matter how great the creative, how brilliant the strategy, and how alluring the incentive, your approach was doomed to fail? Because…

…And How It Can Boost Your Sales Having worked in building products marketing for close to 30 years, I’ve seen firsthand how changes in the economy and homeowner mentality can affect trends in the building industry, design, and more. As the economy bounces back and a new generation of homeowners enters the market (and others…

The months of planning for your biggest trade show of the year are behind you. You have nursed your sore feet and turned in your expenses from the big show. Now comes the real work of closing business, nurturing leads and following up with those leads. Having a key post show plan is as important…

Although you have invested hours, days, or even weeks (not to mention your money) in planning your trade show booth, you have just seconds to engage potential customers and get them to remember your brand, products, and services. Ask yourself a few questions, as you get prepare: Are you ready? Have you put together a…